I have quoted this verse in 11 Timothy many times and used it for others. But never did I realize how important it would be in my future while visiting my daughter, son, and his family in Bozeman/Livingston MT. We drove with our trailer behind us to Bozeman where we parked our trailer at Bear Canyon, a local campground, between our daughter and son’s homes.   

It’s just wonderful to connect with our Montana family who warmly greeted us. Our son, Aaron, cooked up a wonderful Middle Eastern dish using meat from his fall hunt while his wife, Lynelle, baked a pie often like lemon meringue. We all gathered around their newly landscaped yard with daughter, Deborah, and grandsons, August, Jasper and Isaak. My heart was full of love for all of them as we laughed and shared stories in person instead of texts and phone calls.

Before we left Chicago for Montana, Larry said, “I want to do something different this year.”  What,” I said. “I want to float down the Gallatin Valley,” Aaron told us it’s June which will mean it’s fast moving and very cold. The day finally came for our river trip. I tried to see if Aaron or one of the boys wanted to take my spot, but Larry wanted me to have the experience with him.

We had to put on a water proof outfit. Mine was so tight I couldn’t pull it over my breasts and the crotch was close to my knees, but it would be just fine I was told.  I looked around to see that most of those floating the river were young people, not a grandma like me.

Finally, we were on our raft with our guide behind us and an Asian man, Dave, with his wife and daughter on the side of us. We paddled along as the guide gave us commands, “Two forward, one backwards.” We were doing well as a team and my fears dissipated as I was engulfed by the beautiful mountains and hills in their spring garb. We drifted along for about an hour when it was time to disembark. As the guide made the abrupt turn, he accidentally flipped over our raft and the next thing I knew, I was in the frigid water under the raft looking up. I thought of an incident at a Christian camp where something similar happened to a raft and there had been a causality. Needless to say, my heart raced as I swam away from the raft. The next thing I knew, David grabbed me along with his wife and held onto the raft so we didn’t float rapidly down the stream. Now fear was pumping through every fiber of my being as I prayed for us. Along the shore was our team who threw out a rope for us to grab and we were finally pulled to shore. I was shivering and shaking like a leaf on a tree in a turbulent storm.  When I finally calmed down, I said, “Where’s my husband, Larry? For a short time, I worried that he may have drowned or hit a rock on the river.  I just didn’t know until sometime later when he joined us on the beach. He was catapulted ahead when the raft flipped. It took the shore team awhile to pull him in since he is 6’2” and over 220 lbs. Finally, we were together and all I wanted to do was to get to our truck where I had a change of clothes. I couldn’t stop shivering with cold and fear still steaming through me. Later, I found out that if we hadn’t been rescued by the team, we could have been greeted by boulders and faster moving water. But until we flipped, it was a beautiful and fun float down the Gallatin and the pleasant memories still fill my memory. Larry recalls the experience as a wonderful adventure. I thanked God who finally calmed my fears by getting both us safely to our truck.  “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 timothy 1:7.